Competitive advantage

First of all, the Paris Business Daily has no Nobility background. (っ◔◡◔)っ♥ ♥

The Newspaper Office owner was a businessman from Marseille who inherited the family business; he was the only shareholder.

Secondly, the Newspaper Office's business situation is not very optimistic; it applied for tax deferral twice in one year, so it should be willing to sell.

Finally, and most importantly, Le Paris Business Daily owned a very large Printing Workshop, seemingly intending to run a printing business for other Newspaper Office as well, though this clearly didn't bring it much profit.

Joseph immediately decided that this was the place.

The most direct way for him to get involved in the publishing industry is to acquire an existing Newspaper Office.

Afterward, he narrowed down several options, and by the time he finished everything, the sun had already set.

The next morning, Joseph went straight to the Newspaper Office Paris Business Daily newspaper in the North Paris District to discuss the acquisition, and of course, to personally inspect the Newspaper Office's situation.

The neighborhood where the Paris Business Daily is located is not particularly bustling, but a very large building overlooking the river is extremely conspicuous.

A sign reading "Paris Business Daily" hangs above the main entrance of the building. The noisy, bustling sounds from inside can be heard from a distance. Behind the building, black wastewater is constantly being discharged into the river.

Joseph first looked around the Newspaper Office office; the huge building was the Printing Workshop, which contained as many as seven printing presses.

The Craftsman in the Workshop pulled the more than one-meter-long handle on the printing press, pressing blank Paper onto the base plate.

When the handle is pulled up again, a newspaper is printed out.

Dozens of workers were busy around, adding ink, drying, and moving things. Their movements were quick and precise, clearly showing that they were all experienced workers who had been doing this for a long time.

After Joseph had inspected the storeroom and editorial office, he had a general understanding of the Newspaper Office's overall situation and was quite satisfied with the place. So, he stopped an editor and said he wanted to see the Newspaper Office owner.

The editor quickly led them to an office on the second floor of the Newspaper Office building, pointing to a slightly overweight middle-aged man wearing a dark green vest and glasses. "This is Mr. Denico."

Upon seeing a visitor, Denico immediately rose to greet him, smiling and bowing, saying, "Welcome, esteemed sir. May I ask if you wish to place an advertisement or have something printed?"

Joseph, disliking pleasantries, returned the greeting and went straight to the point. "Mr. Denico, I am interested in acquiring your Newspaper Office."

Denico immediately returned to his chair, waving his hand and shouting, "Go back, not for sale."

Seeing that Joseph didn't move, he raised his voice again. "Let's go, or I'll kick you out!"

Joseph glanced at Eman, thinking to himself, "According to the movie tropes, shouldn't you stand up and say, 'How rude! Do you know that His Crown Prince is standing in front of you?'"

However, Eman clearly had no intention of interjecting.

Joseph had no choice but to pretend he hadn't heard and continued, "Can you tell me why you won't sell?"

Denico muttered to himself, head bowed, "I promised my father I would run this Newspaper Office well."

Joseph sighed, sat down in the chair opposite him, and smiled. "I'll offer 150,000 Livre to buy it. And you can continue to run and manage the Newspaper Office."

He brought an accountant with him, and they had already done a rough estimate. The newspaper Newspaper Office is worth about 120,000 to Livre, mainly due to the real estate and the Printing Workshop.

Denico was taken aback. In fact, the Newspaper Office had been losing money for more than a year, and he thought that it would be good if it could be sold for a little over 100,000. He did not expect this young man to ask for such a high price.

He began to struggle internally, but still shook his head. "No... my father instructed me before he passed away..."

Joseph nodded. "Livre."

"But..."

"170,000, final bid."

"Pay in full at once?"

"Yes."

"170,000 Livre... Sir, are you sure... you want to acquire my Newspaper Office?"

"Yes." Joseph gestured to the accountant to show the Newspaper Office owner proof that he had $170,000 in bank assets.

Denico stared into Joseph's eyes, making sure he wasn't joking, and after struggling for a while, he suddenly relaxed his shoulders, revealing a resolute expression. "Oh, alright, this is yours."

He thought to himself: Dear Father, you can't blame me, he really gave me too much...

Joseph's Lawyer immediately took out the pre-prepared contract and handed it to the two men to sign. Then the accountant and Denico went to the bank to settle the payment.

Banks in that era were not very efficient to begin with, and given the huge amount involved, the procedures took more than two hours to complete, and all the funds would not be settled until three days later.

On his way to the bank, Denico had already learned Joseph's identity from the accountant. He felt that he had hit the jackpot today, not only getting a huge sum of money but also getting in touch with the Crown Prince.

When he returned, he was extremely respectful and repeatedly assured Joseph that he would definitely manage the Newspaper Office well for the Crown Prince.

Joseph encouraged him and asked, "How profitable was the Newspaper Office before?"

Denico stammered, "You know, people these days love reading gossip, so it's hard for a newspaper like ours, which focuses on freedom and ideals, to... well, we lost 1200 Livre this year, but we still made a few hundred in the first half of last year."

Fearing the Crown Prince might change his mind, he quickly added, "Actually, in previous years when business was better, we could earn thousands of Livre annually."

Joseph nodded. "Then I'll give you a salary of 1,000 Livre per year, plus a bonus of 5% of the Newspaper Office's total profits."

His acquisition of the Newspaper Office was entirely for the purpose of winning the war of public opinion, and Paris Business Daily would be an important battleground for him. Therefore, it was essential to motivate the management team as much as possible and to tie their interests to those of the Newspaper Office.

Denico could hardly believe his ears. Selling the Newspaper Office meant he wouldn't have to worry about the losses anymore, and he never expected to get such a high salary!

His Crown Prince is simply a savior sent by God!

He was so excited that he repeatedly pledged his loyalty and vowed to do everything in his power to satisfy the Crown Prince and help the Newspaper Office regain its profitability and grow stronger as soon as possible!

Then he heard Joseph say that the salaries of the Newspaper Office's management and key technical Craftsman should be increased by 20%. He quickly dissuaded him, saying, "Your Highness, the Newspaper Office is still operating at a loss; it is not advisable to increase expenditures so drastically."

Joseph smiled; this guy was certainly conscientious, immediately knowing to save money for himself.

"It's alright, things will get better soon. Just do as I say."

Joseph didn't dwell on the salary issue and immediately got down to business:

"Mr. Denico, how many skilled Lithographic Plate Makers does the Printing Workshop have now?"

Newspaper printing technology is still relatively primitive at present, with movable lead type used for the text, which is relatively inexpensive.

All the pictorial parts required the use of Copperplate Intaglio Printing, where Craftsman painstakingly carved the copper base plate, which was then fitted onto movable type blocks, or printed separately. Because engraving was extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming, this was the most expensive part of the entire printing process.

Denico replied without hesitation, "Your Highness, the Workshop currently has five engraving Craftsman, three of whom have over ten years of experience and are quite well-known in the Coppersmith Guild."

Joseph nodded. "Please prepare some Chalk Slab, fine-grained ones, cut to the size of a drawing board, and polish one side smooth. About 40 slabs will be needed. Have the three Craftsman bring them to the Versailles Palace; I have something for them to do."

Chalk is a type of limestone that is readily available and inexpensive as a building material.

Denico asked in surprise, "Chalk? Are you trying to repair the floor?"

Joseph smiled slightly and shook his head, saying, "It's for Planographic Printing."

Denico's eyes widened. "You mean, printing with lithography?"

"That's right."

Joseph knew very well that high-quality content alone was not enough to crush the existing publishing industry. He had to work on multiple fronts, including cost and distribution channels, leaving no chance for other publications to fight back.

My newspaper is absolutely fantastic, and it only sells for 1 sous, sometimes even just 8 Denier. Your newspaper, on the other hand, is just average, and it costs 4 sous. Tell me, what makes you think you can compete with me?

In terms of cost control, Lithographic Printing, or Planographic Printing, is a powerful tool.

Because of the cheap raw materials and the simple and quick plate making process, the cost of Lithographic Printing is only one-fifth or even one-tenth of that of copperplate printing!

Another powerful tool for reducing costs is Cheap Papermaking —using Wood as a raw Papermaking. If mass production could be achieved, the cost of Paper would be reduced by 70%. Historically, this Papermaking technology even sparked a Newspaper Industry revolution in the United Kingdom.

With these two technologies at his disposal, Joseph is confident that he can drive the price of newspapers down to less than one-fifth of its current price while still making a profit.

Of course, the technology required for Cheap Papermaking was quite advanced, and he wasn't entirely confident in it, but Lithographic Printing was not complicated, and experienced Lithographic Plate Makers should be able to master it quickly.

Joseph then gave Denico some instructions for things to be done in the near future, such as increasing the Newspaper Office's staff, increasing the inventory of ink Paper, and designing a brand new layout for the newspaper called "News and Pictures".

Having roughly arranged things at the Newspaper Office, and with dusk approaching, Joseph casually asked Denico before Newspaper Office, "Excuse me, are there any large Paper Mill near Paris?"

Denico immediately gestured Northeast: "It's in Saint-Antoine Town. Your Highness, half the paper used in Paris is produced there."

Thank you so much to This Is Not Good" for the generous donation of 5000 Qidian Coins to this book! Tian Hai Shan is extremely grateful!

I had some writer's block today, so the update is a bit late. I'm afraid I won't have time to add an extra chapter for you. I already owe you two chapters, and I remember them! I'll definitely make up for them with those extra chapters once I'm feeling better in a couple of days!

(End of this chapter)